After a trail of devastation in regions of the interior of RS, the floods of the rivers Jacuí, Sinos, Gravataí, Caí, among others, brought chaos to the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre. Although the rain eased or stopped this Saturday (4) in the capital, the increasing volume of water besieged neighborhoods or entire cities. The most affected municipalities are Eldorado do Sul, Canoas and Guaíba.
“We have neighborhoods that were submerged. Canoas was hit hard by the flood and we are concentrating our efforts in this municipality, Eldorado do Sul and Guaíba”, said governor Eduardo Leite (PSDB) today (4). “There is a lot of water that is coming and that is why I ask you to look for high places”, he emphasized.
In Eldorado do Sul, on BR-290, 49 kilometers from the capital, there is no longer access to the city by highway. The same happens in Guaíba (31 kilometers) and Barra do Ribeiro (61 kilometers).
:: Guaíba level reaches 5m and exceeds the 1941 record ::
Mayor Ary Vanazzi, of São Leopoldo (33 kilometers) called on residents of the most threatened neighborhoods to immediately leave their homes and look for shelter designated by the city hall. In the city, a dike that contains the flow of the Sinos River overflowed this Saturday morning.
In Canoas (20 kilometers) with 350 thousand inhabitants, villages and neighborhoods are submerged. The most affected are Fátima, Niterói, Rio Branco, Mato Grande, Harmonia, Cinco Colônias and São Luis.
São Leopoldo already has 100 thousand people affected by the floods
In a live broadcast on Saturday morning (4), Mayor Ary Vanazzi announced new guidelines for the population of Leopoldo amid the historic floods that hit the city. According to Vanazzi, São Leopoldo already has 100,000 people affected by the floods, with waters from the Rio dos Sinos invading its streets. For these people, it is essential that they leave their homes and seek shelters that are available to receive people.
“If you have water in the street or on the sidewalks, look for hostels or houses of friends and relatives that are in safe areas, as the water will rise and at night rescue will be much more difficult,” warned the mayor.
Regarding the level of the Rio dos Sinos, Vanazzi reported that the decrease in the rate of rise is mainly because the water is invading the neighborhoods. In other words, this is not a reduction in floods. “The good news is that in Campo Bom the level has effectively stabilized, which indicates that tomorrow, throughout the day, the same should happen in São Leopoldo.”
“Today I called the governor requesting support with helicopters and more equipment for the Fire Department, to assist in rescues. Unfortunately we don’t have many resources for this type of operation, so it is extremely important that the population follows the guidelines, so that there is no need for rescues”, reinforced Vanazzi.
Eldorado do Sul has 10 thousand homeless people
In Eldorado do Sul, around 25 thousand of its 39 thousand inhabitants suffered from the floods. The number of homeless people on Friday night (3) was 10 thousand people. On Saturday morning, dozens of families occupied the building of the Desidério Finamor Veterinary Research Institute, on Estrada do Conde, in the Sans Souci neighborhood, waiting for rescue.
The municipal Civil Defense awaits the arrival of motor boats and helicopters, as the boats are no longer navigable. The most affected places were Cidade Verde, Vila da Paz, Picada Parque Eldorado, Bom Retiro, Sans Souci, Assentamento Irga, Chácara and Guaíba City.
In Canoas the water continues to rise
With flooding since Friday (3), this Saturday morning (4) the water continued to rise in Canoas despite the respite of rain. In the Harmonia neighborhood, houses were submerged and dozens of people were waiting for rescue on the roofs. Many families remained stranded and there were few boats to carry out the rescue.
In the complex of the Lutheran University of Brazil (Ulbra) more than a thousand people sought shelter. They are residents of the neighborhoods Cinco Colônias Fátima, Harmonia, Mathias Velho, Mato Grande, Rio Branco and São Luís who left their homes. They came in private cars, police, fire and army vehicles. City hall estimates that 50,000 people left their homes.
In addition to Ulbra, the reception locations in Canoas are EMEF Carlos Drummond: Rua 06, 400 – Setor 5, quadra X – Guajuviras; CAIC Guajuviras: Avenida Sezessete de Abril, 241 – Guajuviras; Centro Social Urbano São José: Rua João Leivas de Carvalho, 541 – São José and EMEF Irmão Pedro: Rua Dr. Olávo Fernandes, 68 – Estância Velha.
Esteio has 2 thousand homeless people
According to Esteio city hall, 2 thousand people are homeless. The situation tends to get worse because in addition to the overflow of the streams, in Esteio and Sapucaia do Sul the Rio dos Sinos continues to raise its waters, functioning as a dam.
Novo Hamburgo has 1,500 homeless people in Fenac alone
In Novo Hamburgo, the Canudos and Santo Afonso neighborhoods continue to be the most affected. In Fenac alone, there are around 1,500 homeless people.
In Vila Palmeira, in the Santo Afonso neighborhood, there are isolated residents. According to Diogo Leuck, who works as a volunteer with the city’s Civil Defense, the situation worsened in the early hours of the morning and some residents of the neighborhood were on rooftops awaiting rescue.
Source: BdF Rio Grande do Sul
Editing: Katia Marko
Tags: devastation interior flooding hits
--
